


Whole

by WintersCaptain



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Feel-good, Jack Hotchner's presence as therapy, Not super romantic, Reader is sad and Hotch makes it all better, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, but it sure is FLUFF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:02:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24694954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WintersCaptain/pseuds/WintersCaptain
Summary: You can't sleep, but your boys are there for you.
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner & Reader, Aaron Hotchner/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 123





	Whole

It was an embarrassingly late hour, and you were still tossing and turning. You checked your phone.

3:18am

_Goddamn it._

You knew there was only one person who could make you feel better, and he was long asleep (or at least you hoped he was).

Giving in, you dial the number and hold your phone to your ear, your fingers pressed to the bridge of your nose.

“Hotchner,” came the gravelly answer.

“Hi, it’s me.” Your voice was small. “I’m having a really bad night. I can’t sleep.”

You could hear his small smile through the phone. “Come on over.”

A thirty-five-minute drive found you on the Hotchner’s porch, still in your pajamas with your favorite pillow tucked under your arm. You knew better than to knock at this hour, so you sent a text.

_Here xo_

The door opened only seconds later, and you were greeted by the breathtaking sight of Hotch in his soft grey crew neck and flannel pajama pants. He stepped back and let you into the warm house.

After he closed the door, he gathered you up, your arms slipping around his waist and his around your shoulders. Tucked into him, you could breathe a little easier.

“Can I see him?”

Aaron leaned back and looked into your eyes. The blue light from the windows made his eyes so much darker than they were in the daytime, and his hair was sleep-tousled and soft.

“He’s in his room.”

You left the circle of Aaron’s arms, threw your pillow and phone on the couch, and padded down the hallway. The door was open, the soft yellow cast of Jack’s nightlight falling at your feet. His white noise machine chugged away, underscored by the sound of Jack’s soft breath.

Aaron trailed behind you, giving you the space you needed.

Jack stirred a little when you knelt next to his bed and rested your cheek on his mattress.

It was enough for you to just see him – safe and sleeping – to soothe you. He’d always had that effect on you. The first afternoon you stopped by to help Haley seven months after he was born, Jack captured your heart. You two had only grown closer through the years.

Two brown eyes opened a sliver. A smile crossed his face before his eyes closed again.

“It’s okay, baby,” you whispered.

“Did you have another bad dream?” He whispered back, just as quietly.

“Yeah.” You told him a few months ago, after he experienced his own bought of nightmares, that it was always okay to find people that made you feel better after a bad dream.

He scooted closer to the edge of the bed, eyes still closed, and placed a hand on the side of your head. You were almost nose to nose. A few tears slipped out of your eyes, tracing their way down your cheek and onto his superhero sheets.

You synced your breathing with Jack’s as he fell deeper back into sleep, holding his little hand to your temple.

When you finally stood and made your way to the familiar shadow leaning against the doorframe, it was nearly five in the morning.

Aaron looked a little more awake than when he answered the door, and somehow more at peace. You didn’t see the fondness in his eyes as he watched his son breathe peace into you as he slept, but it was there.

He took your hand and led you to his bedroom. You paused at the door, and your fingers slipped a little from his grasps

Usually, you landed on the couch in the living room, where Aaron sat with you until you fell asleep. This was new.

“Stay with me tonight,” he said, lacing your fingers together.

“Really?”

He nodded and walked back into the bedroom until his knees hit the edge of the bed. Sitting down, he held on to both of your hands in the space between your bodies.

“I think we’ll both sleep better in here, don’t you?”

A smile threatened at the corners of your mouth. “Aaron Hotchner are you flirting with me?”

He looked up at you through his lashes with a wry smile. “Is it working?”

You stepped forward, laughing lightly and resting between his knees. He brought your hands to his lips and kissed your knuckles. You dropped your cheek to his hair. “How do you do it?”

“Hmm?”

“How do you always manage to make me smile?”

He shrugged. “You’re important to me. You’re important to my son.” He leaned back and captured your eyes. “We love you,” he said as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

 _....And there were the tears again_.

“Aaron,” you said. There were so many things you wanted to voice, but you settled for the silence.

He released your hands and brushed your tears away with his fingers. You took a step back as he stood, pulling the covers back on the untouched side of the bed.

The sheets were cool and soft as you slid between them. You curled up, facing Aaron’s side of the bed, still rumpled. He stood at his nightstand for a moment, doing something on his phone.

When your phone buzzed on the nightstand behind you, you belatedly realized your head was on your favorite pillow from home and your phone was plugged in and set for the night. You reached for it and saw a text from Aaron.

Aaron 👔 5:06am  
Late start today, barring urgent case notification. Report at 1pm. Enjoy your morning.

You turned to look at him as he tucked into bed beside you.

“You need your sleep. I made an executive decision,” he said. He smiled at you in the dark. “I also don’t want to face the wrath of my son if we leave for work without having breakfast with him.”

You shuffled closer to him, and he tucked you into his chest. “We wouldn’t want that, now would we?”

His laugh reverberates through you. “Definitely not.”

There’s silence as you both settled against each other - your head pillowed on his arm as it wrapped around your back, legs tangled together, your hand resting on his chest. The clock ticked away on the wall and the whir of Jack’s white noise machine floated down the hall.

It wasn’t as if you and Aaron weren’t physically affectionate with each other – you’d spent many nights with Jack on your lap, the both of you tucked under Aaron’s arm, watching movies. This though? The feeling of his arms around you and the smell of him surrounding you in his bed? It was new, special.

Peaceful. Quiet. Safe.

“Aaron?”

“Mhmm?”

“Thank you.”

He sighed and kissed the top of your head. “Can I tell you something?”

“Always.” You played with the soft fabric of his shirt under your fingers.

“You don’t need the excuse of a sleepless night to come spend time with us, you know. Or even to spend the night.”

You mumbled something that sounded like “Damn profilers” and Aaron laughed quietly.

“I - we,” he amended, “would really like it if you were here more often. As much as you want,” he continued.

Your heart rate picked up, and you were sure he could feel it. “I would really like that, too.”

When you tipped your head up to look at him, you very nearly startled when you saw how close his face was. His eyes were soft as he brushed some hair off your face.

“Can I tell you something?” You asked, echoing his question from earlier.

“Always.”

You smiled as he parroted your words. “You are the only person who can make me feel safe enough to sleep.”

He pressed a kiss to your forehead and tucked you back under his chin. “Good.”

Your sleep was dreamless, for once, and your heart was whole.

**Author's Note:**

> this is a gift for tumblr user icantswimhalp. i hope you're feeling better my love, and I hope this can be of some comfort to anyone out there feeling a little lonely right now. 
> 
> i am celebrating my blog's 8th birthday this week, and I am accepting requests and general shenanigans over there, if anyone is interested! feel free to drop a request here as well. I'm collecting them like a dragon collects shiny trinkets, and cherish them just as much. 
> 
> love you all. thank you for coming on this ride with me.  
> xo  
> tali


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